"Unruhe" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television seriesThe X-Files. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 27, 1996, and was the first episode to air on Sunday night when the show was moved from Fridays to Sundays. "Unruhe" was written by Vince Gilligan, directed by Rob Bowman, and featured a guest appearance from Pruitt Taylor Vince. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Unruhe" earned a Nielsen rating of 11.7, being watched by 19.10 million people upon its initial broadcast.
The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. In this episode, Mulder and Scully investigate a man who kidnaps women and lobotomizes them. The agents' only clues to catching him are distorted photos of the victims taken just before their kidnapping.
Gilligan wrote the episode after being inspired by stories of serial killers he read as a child. Other inspirations include the concept of thought-photographs, and common fears associated with dentist chairs. The episode received a generally positive reception, though critics criticized the plotline featuring Scully being kidnapped. Critical attention also expressed a positive opinion of how scary the episode was in nature. Guest actor Taylor Vince received positive reviews as the episode's antagonist.
Plot
In Traverse City, Michigan, Mary Lefante goes to a local pharmacy to get her passport photo taken. Realizing she has forgotten her wallet, she returns to her car and finds that her boyfriend has been murdered. The killer, clad in a hooded raincoat, renders Lefante unconscious with a hypodermic needle, then kidnaps her. Meanwhile, in the pharmacy, the elderly clerk peels open the Polaroid photo, which shows her screaming amidst a distorted background.
Lefante is found wandering on a roadside, but appears to have been given an improperly-performed lobotomy. Another woman, Alice Brandt, is later kidnapped. She wakes up bound to a dentist's chair, with her kidnapper brandishing an ice pick and speaking in German. Mulder returns to Washington, D.C., to digitally analyze the photos and finds no evidence that they were doctored. By closely examining the photos, he finds the face of an old man as well as the shadow of the kidnapper, who appears to be extremely tall or have abnormally long legs.
Scully, finding a construction company referenced at both crime scenes, investigates the possible lead, meeting Gerry Schnauz (Pruitt Taylor Vince), a sheetrock installer, who worked near both scenes of the kidnapping. She fields a call from Mulder and, after hearing what he found in the photos, realizes Schnauz, who is wearing stilts that make him very tall, is the suspect. Schnauz attempts to flee while wearing the stilts, but Scully pursues and arrests him. The agents interrogate Schnauz, who was once institutionalized for beating his father with an axe handle in retaliation for the abuse his sister suffered at their father's hands. When questioned on the location of Brandt, Schnauz claims she is safe from the "howlers", supposedly malicious spirits inhabiting the frontal lobe of people and force them to lie or otherwise deny their existence. Brandt is soon found in the woods, lobotomized. Mulder believes that Schnauz thinks he is rescuing his victims from howlers and that the photos show his nightmares.
Schnauz escapes police custody by killing an officer and then robs the pharmacy from the opening, taking the passport photo camera, film, and an assortment of drug-related materials. While investigating the robbery, Scully is rendered unconscious and kidnapped by Schnauz. Mulder heads to the office where Schnauz's father used to work as a dentist, and finds the exam chair missing. Scully awakens bound to the chair with Schnauz claiming he's going to kill the howlers in her head. Schnauz takes a photo of himself, the results of which greatly disturb him, then prepares to lobotomize Scully. Mulder, having found a clue in a photo of Scully from the drugstore's photo booth, finds a construction site near Schnauz's father's grave and realizes the RV parked there belongs to the younger Schnauz. He manages to break in and shoot Schnauz before he can attack Scully. Mulder looks at the photo Schnauz took of himself, in which he is lying dead on the floor. A diary is then discovered among Schnauz's things, and it includes a list of the women he intended to save: Mary Lefante, Alice Brandt, and Agent Scully.[1][2]
Production
A dentistry chair was prominently featured in the episode because Vince Gilligan thought most people had a natural fear of going to the dentist.
The inspiration for "Unruhe" was a Time-Life book about serial killers that episode writer Vince Gilligan had read when he was a child; Gilligan, in particular, was struck by the story of Howard Unruh, who shot and killed 13 people (including three children) during a 12-minute walk through his neighborhood on September 6, 1949, in Camden, New Jersey. The episode was also inspired by Ted Serios, whose "thoughtography" is mentioned by Fox Mulder in the episode. Gilligan had written the role of Schnauz with Taylor Vince in mind when he saw him in the Adrian Lyne film Jacob's Ladder (1990). Vince had actually been offered a role on the show during its first season, but he declined at the time because it was "too small" a part.[1] The idea to have Schnauz sit his victims in a dentist chair was added to the script due to widespread dental fear among the general American population.[1]
Most of the scenes featuring Schnauz on plasterer's stilts were shot using stuntmen. In the scene where Scully meets Schnauz, a cable was attached to Vince to keep him upright on the stilts; this cord was then edited out in post-production. Props master Ken Hawryliw was forced to create his own leucotome after failing to secure a real one from a hospital.[1] The title of the episode, "Unruhe", is the German word for "unease" or "disquiet". When Scully talks in German to Schnauz, she says "Ich habe keine Unruhe" (literally "I have no unease").[1][3] The episode prominently features the drug scopolamine which can cause people to quickly become unconscious, and twilight sleep, which is a condition that can render people unconscious following great moments of pain.[1]
Broadcast and reception
Vince Gilligan's writing received positive reviews, with comparisons to his prior episode "Pusher" being made.
"Unruhe" premiered on the Fox network on October27,1996.[5] This episode earned a Nielsen rating of 11.7, with an 18 share, meaning that roughly 11.7 percent of all television-equipped households, and 18 percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode. It was viewed by 19.10 million people.[6] This episode was broadcast out of order in the series' production schedule as once the producers of the show knew that they would be moving to Sundays starting with the fourth episode of the season, they decided to push this episode back, feeling that it would be an excellent representative of the show for its first Sunday night episode and a better representative than the fourth episode of the season filmed, "Teliko".[1]
Entertainment Weekly gave the episode a "C", feeling that the "interesting concept" of the psychic photographs was ruined by "boilerplate Scully-in-distress shtick".[7] Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club was more positive, grading it as a "B+". She felt that its "greatest virtue" was being terrifying and that it worked for being an "urban fairytale". However, she criticized it for putting Scully in danger.[8]Sarah Stegall awarded the episode four stars out of five, praising the writing by Gilligan, who she commented was "genius for tight confrontation scenes", complimenting the atmosphere and presentation of the episode.[4] She criticized the final scene featuring Scully tied up with duct-tape, commenting that the way she was loosely tied up was unrealistic.[4] The fact that the episode's "absurd concept" was simply a "side-story" also drew positive attention, summarizing her review with, "otherwise a creepy and engaging detective story".[4]
Taylor Vince's performance as Gerry Schnauz received positive critical attention. Writer Barbara Barnett in her book Chasing Zebras stated that he was memorable as a "psychotic killer".[9]John Kenneth Muir in his book Horror Films of the 1990s wrote that Taylor Vince portrayed one of the "memorable and frightening serial killers" of the series.[10] In a later book, Terror Television American Series 1970–1999, Muir praised the episode as a whole, writing that the episode "is nightmare provoking because it subjects a wonderful individual to a terrifying situation which will remove all traces of individuality from that character".[11]Television Without Pity ranked "Unruhe" the sixth-most nightmare-inducing episode of the show.[12]
The fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files commenced airing on the Fox network in the United States on October 4, 1996, concluding on the same channel on May 18, 1997, and contained 24 episodes. Following the filming and airing of the season, production began on The X-Files feature film, which was released in 1998 following the show's fifth season.
"Pusher" is the seventeenth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It originally aired on the Fox network on February 23, 1996, and was written by Vince Gilligan and directed by Rob Bowman. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology, or overarching fictional history of The X-Files. "Pusher" earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.8, being watched by 16.2 million viewers in its initial broadcast. "Pusher" received overwhelmingly positive reviews from television critics.
"Paper Hearts" is the tenth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on December 15, 1996. It was written by Vince Gilligan, directed by Rob Bowman, and featured guest appearances by Tom Noonan, Rebecca Toolan and Vanessa Morley. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, although it is tangentially connected to the series' wider mythology. "Paper Hearts" was viewed by 16.59 million people in its initial broadcast, and received positive reviews, with critics praising Noonan's guest role.
"Leonard Betts" is the twelfth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on January 26, 1997. It was written by Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, and Frank Spotnitz, directed by Kim Manners, and featured a guest appearance by Paul McCrane as Leonard Betts/Albert Tanner. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. Aired following Super Bowl XXXI, "Leonard Betts" became Fox's debut Super Bowl lead-out program since the network acquired NFL broadcast rights in 1994.
"Memento Mori" is the fourteenth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on February 9, 1997. It was directed by Rob Bowman, and written by series creator Chris Carter, Vince Gilligan, John Shiban and Frank Spotnitz. "Memento Mori" featured guest appearances by Sheila Larken, David Lovgren and Morris Panych. The episode helped to explore the overarching mythology, or fictional history of The X-Files. "Memento Mori" earned a Nielsen household rating of 15.5, being watched by 19.1 million people in its initial broadcast. The title translates from Latin as "remember that you will die."
"Small Potatoes" is the twentieth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network in the United States appropriately on April 20, 1997. It was written by Vince Gilligan and directed by Cliff Bole. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Small Potatoes" received a Nielsen rating of 13.0 and was viewed by 20.86 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received positive reviews from critics, with many applauding the entry's humorous tone.
"Unusual Suspects" is the third episode of the fifth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files and the 100th episode overall. It was written by Vince Gilligan and directed by Kim Manners and it originally aired in the United States on November 16, 1997 on the Fox network. The episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 13.0, being watched by 21.72 million people in its initial broadcast and received mixed to moderately positive reviews from critics.
"Christmas Carol" is the sixth episode of the fifth season of American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by Vince Gilligan, John Shiban and Frank Spotnitz and directed by Peter Markle. The episode explores the series' overarching mythology. The episode premiered in the United States on December 7, 1997 on the Fox network, earning a Nielsen household rating of 12.8 and being watched by 20.91 million people in its initial broadcast. It received moderately positive reviews from television critics, with many complimenting Gillian Anderson's performance.
"Emily" is the seventh episode of the fifth season of American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by Vince Gilligan, John Shiban and Frank Spotnitz and directed by Kim Manners. The episode explores the series' overarching mythology. The episode premiered in the United States on December 14, 1997, on the Fox network, earning a Nielsen household rating of 12.4 and being watched by 20.94 million people in its initial broadcast. It received mixed reviews from television critics.
"Kitsunegari" is the eighth episode of the fifth season of American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by Vince Gilligan and Tim Minear, and directed by Daniel Sackheim. It aired in the United States on January 4, 1998 on the Fox network. "Kitsunegari" earned a Nielsen household rating of 11.6, being watched by 19.75 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mixed reviews from television critics.
"Drive" is the second episode of the sixth season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network in the United States on November 15, 1998. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Drive" earned a Nielsen household rating of 11.0, being watched by 18.5 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received largely positive reviews from television critics.
"Bad Blood" is the twelfth episode of the fifth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. Written by Vince Gilligan, directed by Cliff Bole, and featuring guest appearances from Luke Wilson and Patrick Renna, it aired in the United States on February 22, 1998, on the Fox network. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. The episode received a Nielsen rating of 12.0, being watched by 19.25 million viewers. In addition, "Bad Blood" received largely positive reviews, with many critics praising the episode's humor.
"Folie à Deux" is the nineteenth episode of the fifth season of American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by Vince Gilligan and directed by Kim Manners. The episode originally aired on May 10, 1998, in the United States on the Fox network. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the series' wider mythology, or fictional history. The episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 11.0, being watched by 17.63 million viewers upon its initial broadcast. It received largely positive reviews from critics.
"Tithonus" is the tenth episode of the sixth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on January 24, 1999. The episode was written by Vince Gilligan, and directed by Michael W. Watkins. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Tithonus" earned a Nielsen household rating of 9.2, being watched by 15.90 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received positive reviews.
"Three of a Kind" is the twentieth episode of the sixth season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on May 2, 1999 in the United States. The episode was written by Vince Gilligan and John Shiban, and directed by Bryan Spicer. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Three of a Kind" earned a Nielsen household rating of 8.2, being watched by 12.9 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mixed to positive reviews from critics, with some noting that the episode served as a stop-gap.
"Theef" is the fourteenth episode of the seventh season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network in the United States on March 12, 2000. It was written by Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, and Frank Spotnitz and directed by Kim Manners. The episode is a Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Theef" earned a Nielsen household rating of 7.4, being watched by 11.91 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mixed to positive reviews from critics.
"Scary Monsters" is the fourteenth episode of the ninth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It originally aired on the Fox network on April 14, 2002. It was written by Thomas Schnauz and directed by Dwight H. Little. The episode is a "monster-of-the-week" episode, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the mythology, or overarching fictional history, of The X-Files. The episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 5.1 and was viewed by 8.2 million viewers in its initial broadcast. It received mixed to positive reviews from television critics.
"X-Cops" is the twelfth episode of the seventh season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. Directed by Michael Watkins and written by Vince Gilligan, the installment serves as a "Monster-of-the-Week" story—a stand-alone plot unconnected to the overarching mythology of The X-Files. Originally aired in the United States by the Fox network on February 20, 2000, "X-Cops" received a Nielsen rating of 9.7 and was seen by 16.56 million viewers. The episode earned positive reviews from critics, largely due to its unique presentation, as well as its use of humor. Since its airing, the episode has been named among the best episodes of The X-Files by several reviewers.
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